Alexis Guilleux (US correspondent) with AFP
Washington will apply “drastic” new sanctions against Russia, the White House said Thursday, on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion of Russian forces in Ukraine. “The United States will put in place significant sanctions against key sectors that generate income for (Vladimir) Putin,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told a press conference.
Washington does not name China yet
The subject of Ukraine will be on everyone’s lips during a virtual summit of G7 countries on Friday. France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States will be joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “The leaders will talk about how we continue to support Ukraine,” said Karine Jean-Pierre. The spokeswoman did not specify, however, whether the new American sanctions would be taken up by the other G7 countries.
Specific sanctions targets include banks and entities that allow Moscow to circumvent waves of sanctions already imposed in the wake of the start of its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. banks and the Russian defense industry as well as “actors in third countries who are trying to fill and circumvent our sanctions”, specifies Karine Jean-Pierre. For the moment, Washington does not cite China, but concern has been growing for several weeks to see Beijing supply arms to Moscow.
New economic aid
“We will also announce new economic, energy and military aid to help Ukrainians continue to be successful in protecting populations from Russian aggression, and to enable the Ukrainian state to provide basic services such as electricity and heating,” added the White House spokeswoman. “A year ago it was said that NATO was going to collapse, that Kiev was going to fall. This did not happen thanks to the strength of this alliance. NATO is strong, and so is our support for the Ukraine. We send a message to Russia and to the rest of the world. We defend democracy and freedom”, concludes Karine Jean-Pierre.